The present invention relates to a system for equally spacing and transferring items from a first to a second conveyor. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for successively picking up randomly-spaced items off a first conveyor belt and feeding the same, equally-spaced, on to a second conveyor belt, possibly featuring equally-spaced containers. The present invention is particularly suitable for use on packing facilities, for equally spacing fragile items, such as cakes of soap or similar, fed on to one or more wrapping machines.
In the following description, reference will be made, purely by way of example, to the packing of cakes of soap, though this is in no way to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.
On known manufacturing facilities, the soaps coming off the manufacturing machine are fed in randomly-spaced manner on to a conveyor belt by which they are fed on to a rotary conveyor designed to pick them up successively and feed them in equally-spaced manner on to a second conveyor belt supplying the wrapping machines. The rotary conveyor comprises a number of equally-spaced pick-up heads, each featuring a sucker for gripping and retaining a respective cake of soap, for successively gripping the soaps at a pick-up station wherein they are arrested by a fixed stop member. This is required for ensuring the soaps, which are randomly spaced on the first conveyor belt, are safely positioned within the operating range of the pick-up heads prior to pick-up.
A major drawback of transfer systems of the aforementioned type is that the soaps, which are of soft and therefore highly fragile consistency when they come off the manufacturing machine, are frequently damaged by impact against the fixed stop member.
To overcome the aforementioned drawback, a system has been proposed by the present Applicant, in which the stop member is dispensed with, and the soaps travel along a conveyor belt located beneath a rotary conveyor featuring a number of equally-spaced pick-up suckers traveling in the same direction as but faster than the soaps on the underlying conveyor belt. On said system, considerable suction is exerted constantly by the pick-up suckers, which skim over the soaps as they travel along. Owing to the different speeds of the conveyor belt and pick-up members, each soap is contacted in unprearranged manner by the pick-up member, which sucks it off the conveyor belt and feeds it on to a further conveyor.
A major drawback of the above system is that the considerable suction required for lifting the soaps off the conveyor belt may easily result in damage to the same. Furthermore, no provision is made for ensuring the soaps are picked up centrally, pick-up being limited to simply gripping the soaps haphazardly when a fairly extensive portion is presented beneath the pick-up members, thus resulting in a disorderly arrangement of the same on said further conveyor. Finally, failure of the above system to provide for accurate centering of the soaps means that pick-up is seriously affected by variations in the size and shape of the same.